Second Hand Airbus A380s on Lease at 60 Percent of Original Rate

Carriers are apprehensive to take on second-hand jets as they are yet to be tested for transportation.

An Airbus A380 as part of Singapore Airlines’ troupe. (Photo: iStock)

Used Airbus Group SE A380 superjumbos are being offered at a 40 percent discount given the rate for new planes is over $2 million, reported Bloomberg.

Plane leasing firm Doric has said the move comes to spur the demand of second-hand planes, especially by those carriers who do not have superjumbos in their fleet.

The double-deckers could be returned by Singapore Airlines and Emirates, following the completion of their 10-year leases in 2017, said Sibylle Paehler, managing director of Doric.

The carriers that are being targeted will operate on a wet-lease, which means they’ll be given the jets for a limited term, complete with crews.

Each has a different business model, so it’s hard to make precise forecasts on the most-likely future use.

Sibylle Paehler, Managing Director

She added that the main stumbling block is that “nobody wants to be first” when it came to announcing a deal for a 550-seat plane whose popularity as second-hand transport has yet to be demonstrated.

Doric owns five of the jets that Singapore Airlines will return in pairs or clusters of more than two as single jets won’t be sufficient to operate on allocated trips.

Paehler said that the lease could be for shorter, five-year terms while some carriers will want them only at certain periods of heavy traffic, like the Hajj pilgrimage.